Customer: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, The Netherlands

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol has long been at the heart of Europe’s aviation industry. Serving 322 destinations and more than 100 airlines, it welcomed 63 million passengers in 2016. One of Schiphol’s main challenges was to ensure that its capacity was sufficient for future growth.

The airport also wanted to reduce the cost per bag and mishandled bag rates, while improving the reliability of the overall system. In addition, the separate baggage areas at Schiphol had to be seamlessly connected.

Vanderlande helped Schiphol to realise its 70MB (70 Million Bag) programme. This incorporated Vanderlande’s TUBTRAX, BAGTRAX and robotic handling technology. Schiphol also requested VIBES software and a dedicated life-cycle services team on site.

As a result, the levels of flexibility and capacity to handle Schiphol’s growing passenger volumes have increased. Connection times have been reduced, as has the ergonomic strain on the airline’s ground staff. The 70MB programme also extends the productive 50-year partnership between the two organisations.